Just a Tourist
by NotUrAverageMusician
Summary: Piper McLean lives in Ocean City, New Jersey, an island on the coast that's a tourist haven. She loves her life there, her friends, surf team, her family's store and the amazing beach that she gets to call home, but then Jason Grace, a summer tourist, shows up and Piper's world turns upside down. Will she be able to find love in her crazy summer?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! Thanks for reading my story. This one is really meaningful to me because Ocean City is a personal place to me- that's all I'll going to say, I'm not gonna give out personal info :). I hope you like it!**

_Just a Tourist_

_By: NotUrAverageMusician_

I was flying down the road. Faster and faster with my choppy chestnut hair flying all around me and my messenger school bag hitting my waist with every bump in the gravel. I pedaled my green bike to the max and was heading to school, running late as usual. I passed the way back houses where year-rounders like me live in blurs, each one small, but livable with pastel colors and beach décor in the yards. The sun beat down on me and seagulls cawed overhead. I only had a couple more streets to go, I might actually be on time for the last day of school.

I passed Mallon's sticky buns on my left and the smell of it made my stomach grumble in reminder that due to oversleeping I had skipped breakfast this morning. I'll have to stick with sneakily eating the granola bar I had crammed in my bag before I sprinted out the door. I quickly turned the corner and my school was in sight.

Ocean City High School is huge and made out of red bricks. It is literally right next to the boardwalk and on the end where the amusement park, Wonderland, is. The sad thing about that is when you are in the middle of a particularly boring geometry class; you can always look out the window and see a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, and log flume almost within your reach. It's the worst.

I hopped off my bike and headed for the bike rack. I reached it at the same time as my best friend, Leo Valdez who was coming from the other direction.

"Late again, Miss McLean?" Leo joked as he locked up his red bike.

"I wouldn't be talking, Leo," I said, "_you_ have been even more tardy than I have."

"That gives me the authority to joke about being late." He continued with his signature smirk, "Now we better get going because Mrs. Chase said that she would give both of us detention if we were late again and we won't be able to make it to the start-of-summer beach party if we're stuck in detention." I nodded and together we raced up the stairs two at a time in a desperate attempt to get inside before the bell.

Leo has been my friend since he moved here from Texas when he was 6. After his mom died in a fire he was declared an orphan, none of his relatives would take him in. He was put in foster care and came to live here with his third foster dad, Blake, who runs the arcade on the boardwalk. Leo and Blake have a great relationship and I know for a fact that he's been trying to get the social officers to let him adopt Leo. It's a total secret though and the only reason I know it is because he talked to my dad about it one day. Leo being adopted would be awesome for me because I always have feared that my best friend would be taken away one day for good.

Leo and I rushed in the school and flew into Mrs. Chase's class. I sighed with relief and we took our seats in the middle of the classroom just before the late bell rang. I smiled at Annabeth who was sitting to my left and I could tell she was relieved that we were on time too. Annabeth Chase is better known as Mrs. Chase's daughter around here, but we're great friends. While Leo is my best guy friend, Annabeth is equally my best girl friend. Every time her mom gets us in trouble Annabeth always feels super guilty, but I always tell her it's my fault anyway.

Mrs. Chase blames me for Annabeth wanting to grow up more. Once Annabeth started to want to wear makeup and stay up later Mrs. Chase started to dislike me. Then when Annabeth wanted to join the surf team like me and Leo and Percy instead of being on the scholastic decathlon team Mrs. Chase was furious at me. I don't really care though because it's not like my grades suffer because of her dislike towards me, plus I'll have a new teacher next year I can start all over with.

Annabeth was sitting next to my last good friend, and her boyfriend, Percy Jackson. He looked pretty good with his sea green eyes, but I only thought of him as a friend. Annabeth and him have been dating for a couple months now and are still going strong. Percy's family owns a seafood restaurant called Jackson's on the Avenue. The Avenue is a street where there are a bunch of shops and restaurants. It's another awesome place to shop that isn't the boardwalk. Percy's mom is super nice and his family are also my neighbors so our families are pretty close.

Mrs. Chase got up from her desk and scanned the classroom. "Looks like the late ones are actually on time today." She announced. Leo took a bow in his seat, which got a bunch of laughs from our classmates. I just blushed and looked down.

"Even though this is in fact the last day of school-" Mrs. Chase was interrupted with hoots from every corner of the room, "-we still need to learn things. So today we are going to talk about, since summer has just started… how the seasons change!" Mrs. Chase looked excited about this subject, but my shoulders slumped at the thought of science lessons on the last day of school. Annabeth's cheeks burned bright red, embarrassed by her mother who was now drawing a diagram of how the earth looked at the different seasons.

"So the first thing you have to know is that the Earth is tilted on its axis at exactly 23.4 degrees." I started to tune her out. How could someone possibly concentrate when the best time of the year is almost here?

Ocean City, New Jersey, my home, is a three-month town. While all the winter months are going on the town is empty except for us locals, but when the summer starts to hit, little Ocean City is bustling with business and tourists start to pour in through the bridge that connects us to the main land. People rent summerhouses on our island because of our amazing beaches and the stores on our Boardwalk that has been ranked third best in the country.

My dad's store is one of those one's on the boardwalk. It's called LifeStyle and it is my home away from home since I've practically worked there since birth. We sell lots of beach souvenirs, bathing suits, jewelry, cool clothes, and a bunch of other knick-knacks that those tourists love. I spend every day of summer at the Boards hanging out with my friends and chilling on the beach. It is the perfect life and I can't imagine it any other way.

"Miss McLean, are you listening?" called Mrs. Chase from the front of the room, breaking my daydream.

"Yes, ma'am." I lied, nodding my head.

"Well then you should be able to answer the question I just asked you." She raised her eyebrow at me.

"Yes of course… um…" I didn't know the question, I hadn't been paying attention. I desperately looked to Annabeth for the answer, she mouthed 'fun'. "Fun, that's the answer." Annabeth did a face palm. The class snickered and Mrs. Chase grinned.

"I think you mean Sun." she corrected, "Pay attention next time Miss. McLean." I mumbled some sort of an apology. Mrs. Chase turned around to draw another diagram on the chalkboard.

Leo nudged me and pointed to the clock. I looked and saw that it was 9:59, just one more minute until school was let out and summer would finally begin. It was a half-day today since it was the last day of school. I beamed at Leo and bobbed up and down in my seat. Everything about me yearned for the summer to begin. The bright sunrays coming in through the windows were just too much to bear sitting indoors. I imagined how Leo and Percy must feel; they're the ones with ADHD.

Every head in Mrs. Chase's classroom was turned toward the clock ticking and ticking away. Freedom was so close. Fifteen seconds… ten seconds… five seconds… SUMMER!

The bell rang and we all whooped and grabbed our things. Even Mrs. Chase softened a little and smiled for her students. Leo and Percy high fived and Annabeth squealed with joy. I laughed and laughed feeling giddy with excitement.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Percy asked, "Let's go!"

"You don't have to say that again!" Annabeth giggled.

The four of us ran out of the school and got on our bikes.

"Okay, guys, let's meet up here at around 5 so we can all get to the party together." I told the group.

"Sounds good to me," Leo said, "I'll see you guys later then. There's a broken Skeet ball machine that I have to fix before we open for summer down at the arcade." He grabbed his red bike and pedaled off in the direction of his house.

"I've got to go work my shift at Jackson's early if I want to get enough time at the party." He grabbed his blue bike and sped off to the Avenue.

"You ready?" I asked Annabeth. She nodded and we grabbed our bikes and started to my house. Since Mrs. Chase was packing up her things at the school, I volunteered for Annabeth to come to my house so she wouldn't have to stay at the school for any longer than she had to. My stomach growled again, I wasn't able to eat with Mrs. Chase's eyes on me all day so now I was starving. Annabeth gave me a knowing look.

"Why don't we stop at Prep's for an end of the year snack before we go to your house?" she asked.

"That sounds good!" I laughed. We swerved our bikes to the opposite direction and headed for the boardwalk for Prep's. Annabeth's older brother, Malcolm works there and he always sneaks us free food. Plus, Prep's is known for their amazing creation, any type of ice cream you want smashed between two waffles. It's the dessert for kings and has always been a great past time for Annabeth and I.

We walked inside the shop and I smiled at the picture of the cartoon crocodile holding a pizza pie. It was Prep's logo and ever since I was a kid, I thought it was super funny.

"Hey, Malcolm!" Annabeth shouted as we entered the store. Malcolm looked up from where he had been wiping the counter and smiled.

"So what can I get my two favorite ladies?" he joked.

"I'll have my waffle sandwich with cookie dough ice cream." I told him.

"And I'll have mine with strawberry." Annabeth ordered. Malcolm nodded and went to work. He's the coolest brother ever and I have often fantasized that I could have an older brother too like Malcolm, being an only child stinks.

A few minutes later Annabeth and I were behind two huge plates of ice cream and waffles. We were talking about our summer plans, how we would spend the summer teaching surf school with Leo and Percy. We had already signed up and can be counselors now that we were on the surf team and we are sophomores in high school. It's always been a dream of mine and now it's a reality. We also planned to do a lot of beach trips and Annabeth signed up to be a lifeguard. The rest of us have had jobs at our family businesses for a while, but this is Annabeth's first real job and she's super excited about it.

At one point we were laughing when I got my ice cream all over my nose and _he_ walked in.

He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He wore bathing suit bottoms and no shirt, exposing his hot abs. I could make out a faint scar on his upper lip that looked cute. I quickly wiped the ice cream off my nose with my napkin before he could see it.

I nudged Annabeth with my elbow under the counter. She grinned at me knowingly. She could always tell when I liked somebody. I guess I was really obvious about it too because Malcolm picked up on it and he winked at me like he was doing me a favor. I raised my eyebrow as he walked over to the boy.

"Hi, my name is Malcolm and I will be your waiter today, what's your name?"

"Um… Jason." The boy said.

"Oh, Jason, that's a cool name." Malcolm said a little too loudly in our direction. I tried to signal him to stop being so obvious by shaking my head frantically, but Malcolm only laughed and continued talking to the boy. "I would recommend having our specialty, a waffle ice cream sandwich. My friend Piper over here is eating that right now." Malcolm waved his hand at me, I blushed. "So why don't you tell Jason here about the meal, Piper. Think he'd like it?"

"Yes, it's good." I said in a slightly audible voice. Jason nodded and ordered what I had. He sat on the other side of the counter just across from me. I snuck peaks at his gorgeous hair between gulps of food to keep me looking occupied. When Jason's food was ready Malcolm did the unthinkable.

"So Jason, are you from here?" he asked.

"No, I'm from Massachusetts. I'm here on vacation. All summer." Jason responded.

"Cool, well then you probably want to know what us locals are doing for the start of summer?" Malcolm asked.

"Sure." Jason said.

"We're having this start of summer party on 6th street beach. You should come lot's of people will be there."

"Yeah, we're going, too." Annabeth piped up. "You should come and hang with us. We have some guy friends too you'd like." I looked at Annabeth and she winked at me. I smiled, gaining courage.

"It's going to be a lot of fun, we do it every year." I said.

Jason smiled, happy to be accepted by the locals. "Okay, I'll try to make an appearance."

"Great, see you there." Malcolm said, then he went off to seat another customer.

Annabeth and I were finished so we left Prep's. As soon as we walked off the boardwalk I squealed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Annabeth laughed, "I'd be thanking my brother if I were you. Now we're going to have to make you look extra gorgeous for the party."

"But there's one problem." I said, shoulders slumped, "He's a tourist. He'll be leaving before I know it."

"Then embrace the now." Annabeth said, "Someone very wise told me to be courageous and do what my heart tells me when it comes to Percy, and that someone was you. Follow your own advice. C'mon we have to meet the boys in a few, let's hang at your house." I smiled and we both rode off in the direction of my house.

**Please review everyone! Tell me if you like it and if I should continue.**

**Thanks!**

**-NotUrAverageMusician**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for all the reviews and all the views. It means so much to me that people enjoy the story as much as I do so far! I'm very sorry I've been so slow for updating, but I've been in camp and super busy and for that I apologize. So without further ado- here's chapter 2! Yay- a rhyme! :)**

Just a Tourist

By: NotUrAverageMusician

Annabeth and I soon arrived at my house. It's a small cottage painted a light green on the corner of 21st street. In my front yard there is a large tree where I have spent many a past time climbing up and about half those times getting stuck. Anyways, hardly anyone uses the front door so the two of us curved around to my backyard and opened the picket fence. The fence teetered as our bikes were leaned against it. My dad is no mechanic so sometimes I have to bring Leo over here to fix broken stuff.

"Maggie!" Annabeth shouted as my dog came up to smell her. "How ya doing, girl?" My German Shepard immediately turned over to her back and Annabeth gave her a belly rub. Maggie yipped with contempt.

"C'mon girl," I told Maggie who was panting in the hot sun, "I'll get you some water."

We both walked up the porch and stepped into my living room, immediately greeted by a wall of beach photographs that my dad likes to take. Some showed seagulls perched on the dunes, some showed surfers out in the ocean, a couple of them are of me at various ages. "I can't believe your dad doesn't sell these." Annabeth wondered as she always did as she stared at the wall.

"I don't know either, I think he just wants to keep them private." I shrugged. I filled a ceramic dog bowl with water for Maggie who happily licked it up, spraying water all over the floor. I headed for the paper towels when Annabeth jumped in front of me with a psychotic grin on her face.

"You ready for the ultimate get-ready-to-look-amazing-for-the-start-of-summer- beach-party-so-you-can-look-awesome-for-Jason ensemble?"

"Slow down, Annabeth!" I smiled, "I've only just met him, but you make it seem like it's true love!"

"Yes, but I can't be the only one with boyfriend here, plus it's just for one night." She got down on her knees and pretended to grovel. "Please Piper! Let me pamper you!"

I laughed, "Okay, but as long as I can do you too."

"Deal."

The two of us, trailed by Maggie, walked down the hall to my room. Houses around here for the most part consist of one floor only and no basement because it gets way to hot in the summer to be up there. On the sides of the hall there were pictures of a bunch of family events. My first time walking, my dad and I smiling at Niagara Falls, me holding up my first surf award, and one very important picture that I like to look at all the time when I walk by. It's of a woman with pretty brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She has her eyes closed as she's laughing at my dad who's behind the camera. She looks so carefree and happy. Her belly has a tiny bulge too, that was me. That lady in the picture didn't know that soon after I was born she'd die of cancer and I'd never truly meet her. Trina Hemmingway was her name and I miss her every day.

"So what's the theme this year?" Annabeth's voice shook away the sad memories, or rather un-memories.

I plastered a smile on my face. "Bonfire. There's gonna be a fire pit and everything."

"Sounds awesome, let's do this!" Annabeth ushered me into my room. It's hard to imagine before we started being friends that she was super shy and reserved, now Annabeth is peppy and confident.

My room is the only one in the house that has carpet, which I had begged and begged my father for. I kind of have an obsession with it. The one in my room is blue like the sea. I painted dots over my cream colored walls in pink, green, and blue. Annabeth flopped on my bed, knocking of all the pillows I stack on there.

"Seriously? I just made that." I tried to straighten out the sheets.

"You'll forgive me." Annabeth opened my closet and sighed with happiness. "You are so lucky that you have such great clothes." She pulled out a bunch of crop tops and looked at them on her in my full-length mirror.

"The perks of working at a beach clothes store. The Roxy stuff's the best." I shrugged, "Any of the nice stuff that no one wants after a while- I get and anything ripped or dirty goes to me since it can't be sold after that. I just patch it right up and it's as good as new." We both searched around in my closet for a bit, mixing and matching trends for each other. Then we stood back with our chosen outfits.

"Ready." I said. We switched piles and I sent Annabeth to change in the bathroom while I changed in my room.

Annabeth came back into my room wearing the outfit that I picked for her and we surveyed ourselves in the mirror.

I was dressed in short denim shorts. I felt cozy in the long sleeved (it gets chilly on the beach at night) peach shirt I was wearing that had smudged purple designs on it. I wore some leather bracelets that had words like 'Inspire' and 'Believe' on them. To top it off- the white converse sneakers I wear almost every day of my life.

Annabeth wore a tribal print crop top over a black tank and yellow denim short shorts. "Wow! You're a fashion goddess- I love it!" she twirled around in front of the mirror.

"Same to you! So we're all done, I guess. What do you want to do until it's time to meet the guys?" I asked.

"Let's watch some TV! My mom always blocks all the good channels."

"KK." We ran to the living room and plopped down on my leather couch facing the television. Annabeth grabbed the remote and as soon as the TV was on I was face to face with two of the people that I despise the most.

Good Morning New Jersey was on; it's our go to news network. Sadly, the anchorman and anchorwoman are Liz and Gary Castellan so whenever my dad is watching the news all I can think about is Luke, their bad-boy, spoiled son who goes to my school. Recently he asked me out and I immediately said no, it was his first ever rejection and he was not happy about it. He keeps giving me a hard time about it so he doesn't hurt his rep, but I just wish he'd stop.

"Now on to our next segment about hurricane season," said Gary Castellan on the screen, "We are expecting quite a big one this summer so make sure to-"

"-Don't care." Annabeth deadpanned as she switched the channel.

"Ew. I can't quite get over that Luke's parents are on the news." I said, now watching Cake Boss, Annabeth's favorite show.

"Yeah, whatever, they're all I'm allowed to watch so let's just be happy that we're not Luke having to stare at that huge mole his dad has more than just when he's on the TV." She gave a grossed-out face and I cracked up.

"So true!" I giggled and so I turned my attention to Cake Boss. It was an ordinary episode, something goes wrong in the kitchen, Buddy doesn't know what to do, then BAM- the whole family comes together and solves the problem with their family powers! But it was entertaining enough and it sure kept Annabeth occupied. She constantly yelled at the TV 'Oh no he didn't!' or 'You can do it, Buddy!'

At fifteen minutes before five the two of us started walking down to the school as the sun set a little lower in the sky at each passing second, setting the mood for the party and in no time the pair of us were at the high school once again.

Leo and Percy met us at the entrance. Leo was on his skateboard and he was showing off his skills to Percy. He leapt with his board off the stairs with it spinning in the air and landed unharmed. Annabeth and I clapped for him as we got there.

"Took you two long enough." Leo joked as he hopped off his board. Knowing skateboarding really well before joining the surf team last year made him a real force to be reckoned with on the waves. Now that the captain has graduated it's between Leo and Annabeth for the captain position.

"Sorry, but we're here now. Time to get our party on!" Annabeth said. She joined Percy and they started walking and talking. Leo and I quickly started out together ahead of them. I was sensing some couple alone time was needed for them.

"So are you finally going to ask Reyna out?" I asked Leo.

He blushed, "I don't know. I don't think she's interested in me."

I laughed, "Are you kidding me? You're a star member of the surf team, you have a job, you are funny, and you're nice. Of course she wants to go out with you!"

"Well, maybe… but no promises! Wow." By now we were up at the boardwalk at Sixth Street ready to cross to the beach. The party looked amazing from up here. There was a huge bonfire in the middle that lit up the night along with some twinkly lights that were strung all around and tiki torches. There was one of those portable dance floors on the beach and speakers cranked loud to the song, Low. What really stood out to me was the guy running around and dancing with girls and laughing with a Coke in his hand. Luke Castellan.

"I thought he was sick today." I pouted.

"Just because he wasn't at school, doesn't mean he's sick, Pipes." Leo reminded me of Luke's habits to skip class. "Also, he practically is the one who finances this party."

"Okay, before we go I need you to help me out with something." I said.

Leo raised his eyebrow.

"I invited a guy here to the party, his name is Jason. He's pale with blue eyes and blonde hair and he's a tourist from Massachusetts. If you see him, could you let me know he's here?"

"Sure, sure. Now let's go!" We started down the stairs and made our way to the crowded dance floor. "Shawty got them apple bottom jeans- boots with the fur! With the fur! The whole club was looking at her." Leo sang then he gestured to me to sing.

"She hit the floor!" I laughed, "Next thing you know- Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low." Everyone dropped to the ground at the 'low' part.

"The baggy sweat pants and the Reboks with the straps- with the straps!" Annabeth and Percy sang as they appeared on the floor. We all danced together some more. The atmosphere was great. Everyone was having a good time. All around me I was surrounded by my friends laughing and dancing. The night was perfect and after a long dance session, I went over to the snack table to grab some corn chips. As soon as I put one in my mouth, Leo came running over to me with Reyna behind him. They had started dancing together a while ago and they looked like they were having fun.

"Hey, is that your guy?" he asked, pointing to the boardwalk. I beamed as I saw Jason standing there at the steps. He had actually come!

"Yes! Thank you, Leo!"

"It's what I do. Now go on." He pushed me toward Jason. I grinned back at him and started walking up to Jason.

"Hey!" I said as I approached.

"Hey, thanks for inviting me." Jason said, I could tell he was nervous. "The party looks awesome."

"It sure is. Come on!" I took his hand (which was super soft if I might add) and pulled him toward the dancing. I brought him to where my friends were dancing. "Meet the gang. This is Percy Jackson; his family owns that seafood restaurant Jackson's. You already met his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. This is my friend Leo Valdez who works at the arcade and that's his girlfriend, Reyna Colombo whose family runs the doctor's office around here." I waited for either of them to say that they were just friends, but that response never came. _Good_, I thought, _he finally asked her out!_ "And guys, meet Jason. He just came here from Massachusetts."

"Nice to meet you." Leo yelled over the music, "What brings you to Ocean City?"

"Um… my grandma. She always liked to come here when she was a kid so she rented a house for the summer and invited me to come with her. I guess it's spreading the joy."

"Cool, you'll like it here- we all do." Percy said. Annabeth nodded with him.

"The beaches here are the best!" Reyna exclaimed.

"I actually haven't even touched the water yet." Jason said.

"Ohmygod then come on!" Annabeth led the way down to the water. We all raced after her and started splashing around in the shallow water, even though it was still cold. Jason was smiling and laughing. I always love how the perfect beach can make someone so happy, but the happiness wasn't going to last long because a certain Luke was coming down to the shore.

"Who's this?" he snarled.

"Um… this is my friend Jason." I told Luke, "I invited him to the party."

"That wasn't your invitation to give." Luke glared. He was flanked by his two thugs- I'm sorry- friends.

"But you said we could bring whoever we wanted." Percy scowled.

Luke tilted his head back and laughed. "Yes, but you can't invite a Shoebie!" Jason looked confused at the term, but the rest of us acted like he called him a swear. A Shoebie is a nickname for a tourist around here because back in the day when vacationers would come to the Ocean City beach they wouldn't want to pay money for food so they would bring their lunches in shoeboxes and eat on the beach. True story, but barely anyone around here uses that term and never to someone's face. Luke isn't one of those people though; he doesn't believe that rules apply to him.

"Leave him alone- it's just a party and he's not doing anything to you." Leo snapped in Jason's defense.

"His kind I hate. All these stupid tourists going around with cameras and ugly Hawaiian shirts asking stupid questions. Nope, you've got to go, man."

Jason glared, but started out of the water.

"Luke." I said, "This is stupid and if this is how you are going to act, them I'm out too." Luke stared at me dumbfounded.

"Yeah, same with me." Annabeth echoed.

Reyna and Leo looked at each other to confirm. "So are we." Leo spoke.

"And me." Percy said. And together we walked out of the water, up the stairs, onto the Boardwalk and away from the party.

"Wow, thanks guys." Jason voiced. "You didn't need to do that."

"Oh believe me, we did." I said, "I've been waiting for a proper chance to tell Luke what I feel about him for a long time now."

"Plus that party was lame." Leo said, "Barely any good food if you ask me and it's only 8:30, why don't we show you some real things to do around here?"

"How about Manco and Manco's Pizza?" Reyna asked.

"Sounds good to me." Percy voiced and we started off to Manco and Manco's which was just a few blocks down the Boardwalk, but I felt something in the back of my mind. I turned around to see Luke glaring at us from where we once were standing in the water, but I just continued on my way with my friends hoping that this wouldn't cause too much drama.

But knowing Luke, I know he never leaves as a loser in a battle, I know he'll want to do something about this.

**Thanks for reading and please review! I really like to know how people are liking the story.**

**See ya!**

**-NotUrAverageMusician**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi Fanfiction! Sorry I haven't been updating so frequently, this weekend was my musical production of the Wizard of Oz and I have been so busy these past two weeks with rehearsing, but now I'm back and ready to write so chapters will be posted more frequently. So here's chapter three everybody! **

Just a Tourist

By: NotUrAverageMusician

I woke up late as usual at 8 o' clock to the bright rays of sun filtering through my curtains into my bedroom. I rolled over to my side and grabbed my iPhone, scrolling through all the pictures I had taken the night before, not pictures I took at the party which I had deleted last night. I looked at the smiling me sitting with my friends in the green booths of Manco and Manco's. One of Jason, Leo, and I making a silly face to the camera. One of Annabeth and Percy when we all went mini golfing at Goofy Golf. And a few with us down on the beach playing tag. Last night had been a blast after we left the party. Going back to my home screen, I saw I had a text from Annabeth…

_Can you meet me at Jackson's around ten? We need to talk. Plz don't b mad… L_

I'll admit I was confused. What has Annabeth done _this_ time? I replied a hasty sure and started to get dressed.

"Piper?" came my dad's voice from down the hall, "Are you finally awake?"

I completed my outfit and rushed out the door into the kitchen where my dad was watching the news while eating Cheerios. "I'm here, dad."

"Good. You know you're going to have to get up early come tomorrow for your surf school thing."

I started pouring Cheerios into my own bowl. "Don't worry dad, I'm ready for tomorrow's 6:30 wake up call and I'll be ready to go do some time at the store afterwards too."

My dad smiled. "Say, did you here about us having an extra crazy hurricane season this year? It's all the Castellans are talking about."

"Please don't mention their name now!" I groaned, "But yeah, I think I heard something about that yesterday."

"Just be careful out there in the waves if there's a storm a brewing." My dad said in a scratchy pirate voice.

I laughed, "Don't worry dad, I'll be fine. I know when to get out of the water."

"Good. Good." Tristan said, "Now why don't you go outside and do something since you've wasted most of your morning in bed, I'm going to head down to the store and move around some boxes." We put our bowls in the sink and exchanged goodbyes and I started out the back door. Through my RayBans green sunglasses the bright sun outside seemed bearable and I headed for Jackson's to meet Annabeth.

I got to the Avenue where Jackson's was located and wandered along with the shoppers. Hoy's 5 and 10 was on my left. That place is so old that when they opened they actually sold things for 5 and 10 cents. Now it's more updated though and sells everything from food to Barbie dolls. I crossed the street and made my way to Jackson's, the smell of seafood already drifting out the store's open window. Stepping inside the restaurant, I was cooled by the AC and fans on the ceiling. I spotted Annabeth in a booth nervously tapping her feet on the wooden floor staring out the window.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, sliding in across from her.

"I am so sorry!" she exclaimed automatically.

"Wait, sorry for what?"

"Well you see I was on my morning jog at the beach. You know I take one every morning right when I get up so I can get my exercise needs done for the day and keep my arteries flexible so I won't get a heart attack and-"

"Jeez Annabeth, slow down!" I interrupted, "Is there a point to this story?"

"Right, right- getting to that." Annabeth nervously said, "So on my jog I ran into Luke and he was bragging all about how his girlfriend, Drew, is going to win Miss Night in Venice this year and how great and special she is and so I was like 'Drew is the most stuck up girl I know and the only reason she wins is because she plasters on so much make-up that no one can see her real face.'"

"So…" I prompted. Miss Night in Venice is a real honor around here. Girls who are Ocean City residents compete against each other for the right to sit on the big float boat at the Night in Venice celebration where everyone decorates their boats and parades them around the island. It's really pretty. The winner who gets to be Miss Night in Venice is the girl who earns the most money for her charity before the start of the Night in Venice celebration. Drew has won every single year that she could enter and has earned the title long ago as the top mean girl at our school. No wonder she's with Luke- they're practically a perfect fit.

"Well Luke was like 'I bet you couldn't do any better' and I was like 'I know I couldn't, but I bet that Piper could win.'"

"And…" I growled. I was starting to see where this was going.

"I signed you up to be a contestant to be the Miss Night in Venice." Annabeth rushed.

"Annabeth!" I exclaimed, jumping up, "Why would you do that?"

"He baited me into it, I'm sorry." Annabeth said, "He just likes to win all the time and I know that someone needs to put him back in his place. He's been out of line and he thinks he can do whatever he wants. Think about what he did to Jason last night. Think about how he keeps on annoying you ever since you said you wouldn't be his girlfriend. This is your chance to show him he's all talk."

"Annabeth, I don't stand a chance against those girls, especially Drew. I'll lose."

"But I singed you up for your charity to be the Sunshine Foundation. You could help kids with illnesses if you do it. Plus Drew has the stupidest charity ever. It gives stuff like 10 percent off coupons for designer brand clothes to the unfortunate. I mean how stupid is that? I think that if I was in a homeless shelter I would be wanting a job or food or books, not discounts from crazy expensive clothes I wouldn't want anyway."

I massaged my temples. "Well, if you put it that way… but I still don't know. I mean it seems like something only superficial girls would do because they want more attention."

"Which is exactly why people would vote for _you_. You're the only sane person in this competition. Trust me if someone is thinking of donating to a girl's charity they want to know who the girl is and everyone around here knows you and likes you."

"Everyone knows Drew too." I countered.

"Which makes you have an even better chance because everyone who knows her knows that they don't like her."

I laughed. "Yeah, but still isn't it like a big time commitment? I am already swamped with surf school and working at the store."

"It's just one little ball thing where they announce the winner and that's really it. Please you have to do it! If you don't, Luke is going to make fun of us forever- we'll never hear the end of it."

I sighed, "I guess I can't say no."

"Yeah! You're the best! I already turned in your picture and these babies." She pulled out a few buckets with a picture of me. "This way we can put them around and get the money needed for the Sunshine Foundation."

"What if I had said no?" I asked, looking at the buckets. It was my school picture, which didn't turn out that great for me this year. I was smiling at the camera thinking this was just for the yearbook, not the entire island to see. Seeing my name in glittery letter stickers made it seem so final. My summer has turned upside down quite a few times now.

"I wasn't going to take no for an answer. So do you want to put around the buckets now?" Annabeth asked.

"Why not?"

"Great! I think Percy will let us put one here at Jackson's." And that's how we started. Percy let us put one bucket on the counter and he himself gave us 50 cents for a start. We wandered to the doctor's office where Reyna's parents worked who said that they'd love to help out. We sprinted to the boardwalk and put one at the ticket table at the arcade where Leo works and finally found ourselves at my store- LifeStyle.

LifeStyle is painted blue like the ocean with white tile flooring to match. A white ceiling fan keeps us cool on hot days, which is basically everyday. All of the T-shirts were nicely folded in their cubbies in the wall according to color, all of the beach equipment was to the front, the bathing suits toward the back and the jewelry around the register. Sunglasses and magnet racks were found at all four corners of the store and there were two changing stalls in the back of the store.

I found my dad organizing a new shelf of plastic water guns for the beach.

"Hey dad- ready to work!" I announced.

My dad was so startled that he hit his head on the shelf above the one he was working on, making a bunch of tote bags flop to the ground. He rubbed his head and looked over to me. "Hi honey." He deadpanned. Annabeth and I burst out laughing and went to help up my dad from under a pile of bags. "Okay, why don't you man the cash register- I'm going to keep on organizing. And if you want to help out too Annabeth that would be great. All of our employees aren't even here yet. These tourists are way ahead of schedule."

Normally my dad hires employees who are vacationers that spend the entire summer here since most locals already have their own businesses.

I was still holding my donations bucket in my hand and I started to feel nervous of what my dad would think if I entered, even though there's pretty much no going back now. I took a deep breath. "Dad, is it alright if I join the Miss Night in Venice thing?" I hurriedly asked.

My dad looked up with a confused look on his face. "You? Doing Night in Venice? I never thought that was your thing, Piper."

I glanced at Annabeth. "Well, it's kind of like a thing where I prove that you can win if you are nice and smart and good to people. Everyone in the competition only cares about all the publicity and popularity you'll get from winning."

My dad chuckled. "I remember back in the day people actually did the competition for reasons like you. Go for it, kid. You can beat all those girls."

"Thanks dad!" I rushed over to hug him. Then my dad left to go into the back room to grab some merchandise.

A tinkling bell at the door let me know a customer has arrived so I looked up and saw two blue eyes that were all too familiar. _No way_, I thought. "Welcome to LifeStyle," I told Jason, "How can I help you today?"

He smiled at me and the warmth reached his eyes. "I'm actually looking for some surf stuff. I am doing Surf School starting tomorrow and I need to be prepared."

"Seriously?" I asked. This was too good to be true, "I'm teaching Surf School! Well, my friends and I are- I didn't know you were a camper."

"I didn't know you were a counselor." Jason laughed. "Seems like we're meeting each other everywhere lately!"

"That's so true. So what do you need? A wetsuit?"

"Pretty much everything." Jason said.

"Can do! We have all your surfing needs around here. All types of boards. All wetsuits. Everything you need."

"Awesome! Thanks." We walked over to the corner of the store where a rack of surf boards was placed. Longboards, paddleboards, shortboards, and even fish and gun boards have made their way onto the shelves.

"Okay, this is my favorite part." I told Jason, "A surfer being united with his board is magical." He looked at me funny and I shrugged. "You don't get it- you haven't been on the waves yet, but let me tell you that surfing is the best thing in the world."

"Okay then, I'm ready. Which ones do you think are good for me?"

"Generally boards should be a good foot or foot in a half taller than you." I explained. I held a plain blue one up to Jason that was barely taller than him. "See, you shouldn't get this one because it's too short for you. These ones should be good." I brought him over to one section of the rack.

One of them had purple flames running up the sides. One was teal with a white line going down the middle. The last one Jason immediately ran to. It had a circular logo in the middle and alternating bands of red and gold shot out of it.

"This is the one." Jason smiled.

"That's awesome- I've always liked that one." I said. "Now you just need a wetsuit and some board wax and you're ready to go."

After picking everything out I learned a lot about Jason. His last name is Grace. His favorite thing to do is play his guitar. He has a little white pet rabbit back at home named Hoppy that he got when he was 13. He gets straight As in school and wants to become a sergeant one day.

The more I hear about him the more I completely fall for him.

So I was sad when check out time finally came. Jason ended up putting some change into my Night in Venice bucket. We said goodbye, but it was nothing special. But just as Jason was walking out the door with his new surfboard under his arm, he turned back and said:

"Can't wait to see you tomorrow." Then, wait for it, he winked at me! I am like fifty percent sure he did! Omg!

"Me too!" I called after him.

The door swung shut and I squealed to my hearts content. Annabeth jumped onto the counter to join me.

"So…" she prompted.

I smiled giddily. "I think that I'm falling for a tourist."

**Please please please review review review!**

**And I will be back with the next chapter very soon.**

**Bye! Hope you're having a great summer!**

**-NotUrAverageMusician**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hi everyone! Wow- I took a while to update! I sincerely apologize for that! I'm making the chapters a bit shorter now for quicker updates. Hope you guys love the chapter!**_

Just a Tourist

By: NotUrAverageMusician

The next morning, at the unflattering hour of 6:30, Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and I found ourselves at the Arcade getting ready for our very first Surf School class that started at 7.

"We should do some drills." Leo suggested, "You know, like the ones where you have your board in the sand and you have to paddle and stand up really fast." Leo was waxing his board, an orange one with blue splatters all over it. It's always been one of my favorite surfboards of the group.

Percy nodded. "Oh yeah, that's a good idea. I mean do you really think we should let them in the water on their first lesson?" Percy's board had a picture of a wave on it. It looked almost 3D.

"Maybe we should only let them go out a little bit far, just behind the break, but we wouldn't let them surf- only paddle with the hands for practice." Annabeth said. "That way none of the inexperienced surfers will feel too overwhelmed." Annabeth's board was purple with a simple pink line going down the middle.

"Sounds good to me." I agreed, "We could use the balance board and teach the campers good posture on a board. Maybe even put in some rising up exercises so they know how to get up smoothly."

"I think we're ready." Annabeth announced, "Let's go!"

We jogged down to beach carrying our surfboards and met the group. There was around twelve kids which meant three for each of us, but there was only one person who caught my eye. Jason was in his bathing suit chatting with a guy next to him. His smile seemed so easy and his blonde hair had that 'messed up' kind of look. In other words, he just looked amazing.

"Hey there, surfers!" Percy started, addressing the group, "Welcome to camp. My name is Percy Jackson, the blonde one is Annabeth Chase, the guy with the curly hair is Leo Valdez, and the girl with the braids is Piper McLean. We're all on the Surf Team at our school, Ocean City High, and we're making it our goal to get you all to be good enough to make the team! We're all really excited for this class to begin and to get to know all of you, but we're going to break all of you guys up in groups of three and assign each group with a counselor."

That was Leo's cue, he had split up the groups. He pulled out the attendance sheet and winked at me.

"Okay, Lee Fletcher, Katie Gardner, and Gwendolyn Martin are with me." Leo said, "And Charles Beckendorf, Juniper Evergreen, and _Jason Grace_," he paused, and I prayed that group would be mine, "are with _Piper_." Leo mouthed a 'your welcome' to me and went on with the list.

I grinned madly without even feeling weird about it for a while. Three figures started to walk over to where I stood.

"Hi everyone!" I smiled when they arrived. I addressed the group, but I really couldn't keep my eyes off Jason. He wore a tight wet suit that showed off his muscles. His hair was blowing in the wet breeze. _Focus, Piper!_ I commanded myself.

"Hi." Jason, smiled back.

"So, you all want to learn how to surf." I started, "That's good! It's such a great sport and fun thing to do. But, we can't start off right away on the waves! I want you all to put your boards on the sand and lie on them on your bellies… that's it!"

About thirty minutes later my students had learned how to pedal with their arms and the positions to jump up and catch a wave. They were taught which waves were good ones and the lingo associated with riding. I was especially impressed with Jason who had listened intently to my entire lesson with rapt attention. I was very proud on how he was doing. We'd be hitting the waves together in no time!

"Bye guys!" I called to Charles and Juniper, Jason had stayed behind to help us all pack up.

"That went awesome guys!" Percy cheered. He swept Annabeth up off her feet and ran into the ocean and dumped her in. She screamed playfully and pushed him in the water too.

"Oh yeah it did!" Leo exclaimed as he started into the water at running speed, "We're going to rock next year's competitions with all this extra practice!"

It was just me and Jason, alone in the sand.

"So." He said.

"So."

"I was wondering, well, I guess I was thinking that… um." Jason looked down at his feet, his cheeks had grown bright red.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Would you like to grab some dinner with me tonight?" he blurted out.

I smiled. _He feels the same way_, I thought. "I'd like that." I spoke.

"That's great." Jason looked seriously relieved. His smile stretched from ear to ear. "So where should we go? I'm not really that knowledgeable on all things Ocean City."

"Hmmm, there's this great Italian place at the Avenue." I suggested, "We could go there."

"Sounds good to me." Jason said. I gave him the details and he said he'd pick me up at five tonight. He waved to me as he ran up the beach to go home.

I didn't even have time to process what just happened when I heard the rushing of three pairs of feet stampeding toward me. I turned a 180 to look at my friends' anxious faces.

"Please just tell me he asked you on a date." Annabeth pried.

"Nope." I lied.

"What! That loser!" Percy snapped.

"I'm totally joking- we're going to dinner tonight!" I squealed.

My friends cheered for me. "We can start going on triple dates!" Leo said.

"I don't think we're officially boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but I'll let you know." I told them, "Oh my god I am so excited for this, and I can't believe that Jason liked me back!"

"Of course he did, Piper." Annabeth told me, "You're so awesome. How could he not like you?"

"You guys are the best friends a girl could have." I smiled.

"Hello, Piper." Came a snarly high pitched voice. I rolled my eyes and turned to face the interrupter.

"Hi there Drew." I said, "How's your summer going?" I decided to play this one like I wasn't even bothered by her.

She ignored my question. "Is it true that you've entered the Night in Venice competition?"

"Yeah." I replied.

Drew glared. Her slanted eyes were rimmed with in my opinion pounds of eyeliner, mascara, and eye shadow. She doesn't even look pretty with all that disgusting makeup on. "I just want to let you know that there's no way that you have any chance of winning this competition and you should probably drop out now before you humiliate yourself in front of the entire island. I have won for three years in a row now and there's really no way you could beat me."

"Well Piper's going to whoop your butt in the competition with a landslide victory, Drew." Leo taunted.

"So you better watch out." Percy said.

"Yeah." Annabeth agreed, "She's nicer and smarter than you. There's really no competition."

Drew laughed, "Oh- that's funny. You think it's all about being nice and smart and playing a clean race. That's not what this is about, hon, maybe you should drop out now."

"Not likely." I smirked, "You've got it all wrong, and when the votes and the money is counted, you'll eat your words."

Drew shook her head, "Whatever. You're so wrong. See you around, Piper." She then walked away, almost falling onto the sand due to her platform flip-flops. Seriously, only Drew would ever try that."

"Don't worry, Pipes." Leo said, "She's insane. No one wants to vote for a crazy lady. Especially one who's nose looks faker than a circle looks round."

"I hope you're right." I whispered as I watched the mean girl walk up to the Boardwalk. _Maybe I'm not cut out for this after all_, I thought.

_**Hope you liked the chapter! **_

_**Have a rocking summer! :)**_

_**-NotUrAverageMusician**_


	5. Chapter 5

**_I apologize ever so sincerely FanFiction for my horrible horrible time away from this story. I've been on vacation for a long time and my mom just had surgery so I've been taking care of most things around here. I'm so sorry it's been so long! But to make sure you don't have to wait any longer for the next chapter, I'll shut up right now so you can get to the story now!_**

Just a Tourist

By: NotUrAverageMusician

I was doing some last minute touch ups to my hair and outfit as I waited for Jason to pick me up. We were going to walk to Luigi's, the Italian restaurant we were going to for dinner, and after we ate hopefully walk some more on the beach. I couldn't help but think of the way we would walk, hand in hand, with the backdrop of the beautiful sunset.

_Cut it out Piper_, I thought to myself, _it's your first date with the guy!_

That was true; I didn't expect any kisses until a long time from now. Of course that didn't stop me from dreaming of what it would be like.

I surveyed myself in the mirror again. I was wearing a cute denim sundress with gladiator sandals. I liked my outfit because it wasn't too casual and it wasn't too dressy. I had straightened my hair and added hoop earrings too.

_Ding dong!_ The sound came from my front door. I looked out my window to see Jason standing on my front porch wearing a green polo shirt. I grabbed my purse and sunglasses and sprinted out of my room.

I raced my dad to the door. "Bye! I called, "Love you dad!" and then I jumped out the door. No way was I going to let my dad embarrass myself before my date.

"Hey!" Jason said, flustered.

"Hi!" I smiled "Nice shirt."

"I figured you'd like it. Green is your favorite color, right?"

I grinned madly, "Yes! How did you know?"

"It's in most of your wardrobe." Jason pointed to the green sunglasses I had perched on my head.

"True. So you ready to go?"

"Yep." Jason let me lead the way because I knew where I was going on this. It was only a few short blocks to the Avenue, but through out the walk to Luigi's I swiveled my head all around, hoping I could avoid any of my friends as we made our way down to the Avenue. I knew that would be pretty hard though considering we live on an island. It seems like you run into everyone when that's the case. All those contry folk who live in small towns complain from lack of privacy, but I don't think any of them could take having to live on an island where you can barely leave and it's always nice weather so everyone is outside. At least in a small town you can take a car and leave easily if you want a break. Most of the locals around here don't even own cars.

Sure enough, five minutes into the walk I heard the familiar sounds of a skateboard's wheels rolling on the gravel behind me.

"Oh come on!" I muttered.

"Hey guys, whatcha doing?" Leo smirked keeping pace with Jason and me on his skateboard.

Jason looked a little embarrassed and stared at the ground. I could almost scream at Leo now. "Just heading to the Avenue." I said through gritted teeth.

"Oh yeah, I was just heading there myself." Leo smiled. I'll bet he loved the pain he was putting on me now.

"Well, that's great." I deadpanned, "Why don't you leave us alone and get a move on? I wouldn't want our slow pace to slow you down."

"Oh _I'm_ fine. I just have a few questions for the lucky guy over here, and then I'll let you go." Leo picked up his skateboard and started walking with us. "So Jason, do you consider yourself a violent person?"

"No." Jason said.

"Okay now what's the capital of Zimbabwe?"

"Um…"

"Seriously, Leo! Go away!" I said. My cheeks burned.

"Ha! Fine, but Annabeth won't be happy this guy didn't know the capital of Zimbabwe." Leo smirked, "Just have the girl home before eleven and don't do anything stupid like not taking her on a walk on the beach afterwards." I blushed, Leo read my mind.

Leo swerved away on his skateboard. "By the way," he yelled, "the capital of Zimbabwe is Harare!"

"Sorry about that." I told Jason as we approached the Avenue.

"No that's cool." Jason said, he was actually smiling, "I think it's really awesome that you have such close friends that actually care about you."

He said it like he was longing for it, "I guess it's always been that way. Leo's like a brother to me, we grew up together."

"That's so lucky. Living here must be the best."

I nodded. It was the truth. "It is. I couldn't stand to be anywhere where there isn't a beach!"

Jason laughed, "That's a great way to live. I think we're here." We walked into the air-conditioned restaurant and got into our seats easily.

"Normally this place only will let you sit if you have a reservation. Since it's so early in the season it's barely crowded." I explained.

"Like summer?"

I smiled sheepishly, "Tourist season. The island is practically a ghost town without them, but when summer rolls around it's really hard to even get off the island. We have to do like all our shopping on island because I bet you can't even imagine how crowded it gets on the bridge."

Jason's eyes sparkled, "Wow. This is going to be such a great smmer."

We ordered quickly and the waiter gave us water. Of course I knew him and had to explain that I was on a date. Why can't anyone give a girl some space?

"So what's Massachusetts like?" I asked Jason.

"It's nice. It's green and stuff. The schools are really good and so are the sports teams. Everyone there is pretty nice and we make some beast clam chowder!" Jason said.

"That is awesome. I've never been outside of New Jersey and neither have most of my friends. Leo moved from Texas though."

"How did he like Texas?" Jason asked, "I've never been there either. It's actually one of the few states I haven't visited."

I shrugged, "I wouldn't know. He hates talking about his past. You know before he came to Ocean City."

"Sorry, I didn't know it was such a touchy subject." Jason apologized.

"That's okay, so you've traveled a lot?"

"All the time actually. My dad's job requires a lot of travel and sometimes he takes me with him. Most of the time I'm in Boston though with my nanny because he's never home." Jason got a faraway look in his eyes.

"Wow. That sounds bittersweet."

"Yes, but I'm used to it. It's kind of nice because things are so awkward between us. I feel like I barely know him."

"Huh, me and my dad are super close. I couldn't imagine it any other way really."

"He seems like a pretty cool guy, next time I come by your house, you have to introduce me."

"Okay." My stomach fluttered. He said the next time he saw me. That means there will be a next time and I can do this again!

And before I could really process what was happening we both told our messed up life stories. I felt like I could actually talk to Jason. He's such a good listener. Different from anyone I've ever met. He's been so many places and seen so many sights yet he doesn't think there's anything better than being home. Where I have never been outside of Ocean City and really want to go somewhere new for a change.

We talked about our hobbies. Jason really likes surfing from the one lesson he got so far and can't wait to go again. I told him about how I have been surfing since I was old enough to carry a board. He said how much he loved my eyes, he insisted that they changed color like a kaleidoscope. That really made my heart sing. The smile on my face seemed permanent, like there was no way I could wipe that grin off my face. I felt like I was floating on a cloud when I talked to Jason. It was the best feeling ever.

"So I hear most dates around here end with a walk on the beach?" Jason smiled as we walked into the night after the food.

"Yep!" I squealed. My heart kept beating out of my chest. I get to walk on the beach with Jason! My daydream was coming true.

We ambled onto the beach and when we took our first step on the sand he took my hand, it made my cheeks get really rosy, I bet and butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

The sky was an orangey pink and it looked beautiful. The waves rolled up onto the shore with nice calming sounds. And I looked up into Jason's eyes after we had walked for a few minutes, just listening to the waves and taking in the golden sky.

His hand brushed away some of my hair that had come undone from my ponytail.

Annabeth squealed. "OMG! What happened next?" I had already spent that last thirty minutes updating her on everything that happened last night.

I blushed, "He kissed me."

Annabeth gasped, "Wow what was it like?"

I laughed. "It was just a peck on the cheek. Nothing to worry your little blonde head about."

I heard a collective groan coming from the opposite couch where Leo and Percy had spent the time I was telling my story throwing a basketball to one another and making it really obvious that they could care less.

"That's great. Whoop de doo." Leo sarcastically said.

"Why do we need to be here?" Percy whined, "You said that you needed everyone here ASAP, but I've just heard a play by play about your date and I don't understand why this is an _emergency_."

I rolled my eyes. "I want Jason to feel more welcomed and less of a tourist, you know. After all he is here for the whole summer." I looked around at the confused faces that surrounded me, "I mean to say he needs _friends_ and I think we should let him hang out with us all the time like we all do." I could see that my friends were perplexed on what to do next. "I know that it will be a big change this summer having him around, but Jason is such a nice guy and I think you'll all really like him."

I looked around the room and let that thought sink in.

"Fine." Leo said, "If you say he's cool then that's good. I don't see why we can't add another member to the Funky Bunch." We all groaned. Leo is always trying to come up with a group name for the four of us, but they all sound stupid.

"I'm cool with it." Annabeth spoke up, "I think from what I've seen and heard he would be a great addition."

"Sure, why not?" Percy agreed.

I felt so relieved. "Great, so can we invite him over now and we can all head to the beach?"

"Yes, the more time at the beach for him the better." Leo said, "That guy has the opposite of a tan."

We all laughed and I ran to get my phone.

_**Thanks for reading and please please please review about it! A simple "Good" can make my day so much brighter!**_

_**Have a happy summer!**_

_**-NotUrAverageMusician**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

Just a Tourist

By: NotUrAverageMusician

I wished this afternoon I could relive yesterday afternoon, but sadly that was not possible.

I couldn't go to the beach with my friends this morning, after surfing lessons were over I had to pack up right away and put on some actual clothes. Even though the temperature was in the low nineties, aka best beach weather ever, I was stuck indoors with a bunch of stuck up girls.

_Just how I wanted to spend my evening!_ (Please note the sarcasm in that sentence)

I was inside the Ocean City rec center where the meeting about the Night in Venice would be held. I counted nine other girls, some I knew and some I didn't.

And I already knew I wasn't going to get along with any of them.

A girl with long blonde hair was legit putting blush on by the pound at her seat while her neighbor was busy plucking out her eyelashes. Seriously people? If you absolutely need to do that, do it in the bathroom!

I was the last one to arrive, sweaty, because I had run all the way from home. My hair pulled up in a messy bun, not a trace of makeup on my face, like the usual. As the rec door slammed behind me every single girl turned a 180 in their seats to look at me, then seeing I wasn't really any competition, they turned back to the front.

I shook my head, why oh why did Annabeth have to get me to do this?

I took a seat as far away from any girl as possible, which was easy because all of them were trying to be near Drew. Surrounding her like secret service agents to the president. A couple of them were sharing seats so that they could be closer to the wicked witch herself, practically leaning forward hanging on to her every word.

The air conditioning was a nice change from the heat outdoors, but the rec room had such towering ceilings, it barely made a difference down here.

Just then Drew got up and started walking toward me, flanked by two other girls, Pale and Paler, it looked like they had never spent a day on the beach. Ever. Or outside for that matter.

"Hi there Piper!" she said with fake cheeriness in her voice.

"Hey Drew." I muttered, hoping she'd go away.

"Fancy seeing you here today, I didn't know that they allowed ugly girls to be in this competition?" Pale and Paler laughed and laughed like this was the funniest joke ever. "Is there no beginning to your good taste?"

"I'm surprised this room could fit your ego, Drew." I saw her shocked face, "But I'm not about to get into a battle of wits with you, I never attack anyone who's unarmed."

Drew's face flushed. "Yeah, well I think you have a good personality, just not for a human being."

"I don't understand why you're trying to make me hate you, there are enough people already."

"GIRLS!" Drew and I both turned to see where the voice came from. A lady with high heel stilettos was standing in the front with her arms crossed over her chest. Drew went back over to her seat and I slouched down a lot more in mine.

"Thank you, my name is Miss Artemis and I am in charge of the Night in Venice competition this year."

Drew raised her hand. "Excuse me, but what happened to Mrs. Hera? She always runs the Miss Night in Venice."

Artemis shrugged, "This year, she has decided to go on a vacation somewhere exotic and will not be running this year's competition."

All the other girls gasped, I just raised my eyebrow. I knew Mrs. Hera, the rich lady who spends summers here. She is one of those ladies who doesn't like people around her house. One time Leo and I were biking and stopped to get a drink in front of her house. Big mistake. She started shouting "GET OFF MY LAWN!" and she jogged outside with a mop in her hand that she must have planned to use as a spear.

I'll admit, even though she was a real crank, the lady had style.

"Things are going to be a bit different now that I'm in charge." Artemis explained, "You guys will actually have to get up and do something for your charity instead of looking pretty."

There was a chorus of groans. I was the only one who perked up at the thought of being helpful. I was already feeling super guilty about all this anyway. Being in a beauty contest that is. I didn't get why those girls were so stuck up.

One girl raised her hand, "But I had a charity for orphaned pound puppies. Does this mean I actually have to be around orphaned pound puppies?"

I smirked. These girls have never worked a day in their lives.

Artemis leaned in, "I'll let you in on a little secret. While you all think this is a beauty contest, and I'll admit, a lot of this contest relies on looks. But the main thing this is for is giving back, and I know Mrs. Hera wasn't concerned about you guys fulfilling your charity requirements, but you better believe that I am."

Drew snarled. She was not happy about this. I could see her whispering to her entourage. Probably planning a way to get Miss. Artemis kicked out of here.

Miss. Artemis smiled from where she stood on the makeshift stage. "I want you all do make a real difference and really try to raise money for a charity through hard work and dedication. Something I'm sure a few of you need to learn a little bit about." She looked in Drew's direction.

"I know some of you need to learn that you can't just sit there and post your picture so you can make the most money. I'm going to switch up the competition."

"What?" Drew snarled.

"The only money that you can earn for this years competition is money that you've worked hard to earn, not a penny from anything else."

"Why?!" Drew whined.

"I told you already, you need to actually earn your money. This means you've got to step up your game, girls. If you want to win then you'll help your charity. If you blow this off, then you might as well forfeit right now."

You could feel Artemis's threat hang in the air. I looked expectantly at Drew, hoping that she'd get up and walk away and for a second I thought she might, but she stayed put, her glare never leaving her eyes.

Artemis smiled in satisfaction, "Good. Now meeting's dismissed. Go on home and start thinking of money rising ideas!"

All the girls started whispering to each other as they walked to the exit. I was heading to Miss Artemis, an idea already blooming in my head, but I heard bit and pieces of conversation from the girls.

"She's so ugly. I can't believe she's in charge of a beauty competition."

"I want Hera back! She always understood us."

"Quit your complaining, girls. I think she'll be gone soon."

That last one was from Drew.

I made my way toward the stage where Artemis was packing up her things.

"Hi." I said, suddenly unsure how to approach the lady.

"Piper McLean." Artemis nodded. She had my form in her hand I had filled out to be here. Most of it in Annabeth's writing. "You're working for the Sunshine Foundation. I'm glad you actually picked a charity worth fighting for."

"Thanks." I was glowing inside. I was wondering if she'd distinguish me from the stuck up ones.

"I actually have a few big plans on things I could do to raise money and I know I'm going to need some help." I continued, "Do you think it would be alright if I brought a few friends?" I asked Artemis, "I have some really close friends who I think would love to help."

Artemis's eyes sparkled, "I think that would be a great idea."

"So then I asked if I could get some friends to help me, and that's when you come in." I was talking to Annabeth on the phone later that night when I was home alone. I almost always eat dinner by myself because my dad's at the store till late. Right now there was grilled cheese on the stove and Maggie was chowing down on her dog food.

"What can we do?" Annabeth asked.

I smiled, "I've got a few ideas."

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_**-NotUrAverageMusician**_


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